Since 1999 GHI Electronics, LLC has been providing the ultimate solutions for mass storage on embedded systems. GHI Electronics, LLC is the first in the world to provide the FAT file system on a single chip solution. Previously, mass storage devices with file systems were strictly used by PCs or powerful devices with operating systems. Our goal is to provide our customers with "Unique Developments" that fulfill their high-end needs with a simple drop-in solution.
GHI Electronics, LLC. History
ALFAT V1 was developed in 1999 to be the first stand-alone FAT file system chipset. ALFAT V1.0 was based on a 8-bit microcontroller and because of that, it had many limitations including read/write speeds under 5 KBytes/second. In 2002, ALFAT was redesigned into ALFAT V2 which became available to the public in 2003. This version was based on a 32-bit microcontroller that is at minimum, 50 times faster. Read speeds were pushed to over 100 KBytes/second on average and peaked at up to 250 KBytes/second. Write speeds were also improved to an average of 35 KBytes/second and peaked at up to 70 KBytes/second. One of the great features of ALFAT V2 was its ability to update itself to the latest firmware. By simply placing the firmware on the connected media you could issue an update command to complete the process. ALFAT V2 also allowed users to communicate using UART or SPI serial connections. ALFAT V2 was a complete success, and was integrated in many products around the world.
As requested by many customers, we added I2C to ALFAT V3 in 2003. ALFAT V3 is based on the same microcontroller as ALFAT V2 but it adds standard and extended modes. In standard mode, ALFAT V3 is 100% compatible with ALFAT V2. Extended mode, adds I2C and stand alone mode. This leaves ALFAT V3 with 4 options, SPI, I2C, UART and stand alone. Stand alone mode skips the boot loader and starts the firmware immediately. We didn't stop at SD, CF, MMC and HD storage devices! In 2004 USBwiz supported USB mass storage devices. USBwiz is based on a 32-bit micro controller similar to ALFAT and uses ISP1160 as a USB host. A full release of USBwiz firmware was release in mid 2005 to support SD/MMC, USB mass storage devices, USB mice, USB keyboards, USB printers and more!
We realized that our customers needed more connectivity with other USB devices. So in 2005, we added support for the CDC class used in most modems and
cell phones to allow users to have network connection and even send SMS messages from cell phones. Serial USB chipsets do not use any of the
standard USB classes so we added support for the most common chipsets from Prolific, Silicon laboratories and FTDI. This allows users to use
most low-cost USB GPS devices and USB serial cables. Some customers needed to place their own code inside our chipsets and
so we created ALFATxp in 2006 to have a JVM that runs JAVA code.
In the same year, GHI released USB host libraries for MAX3421, an
SPI USB host chipset from Maxim. The third generations of USBwiz and uALFAT were released in 2007. New chipsets were based a complete new
codebase with improvement to USB and FAT libraries. This also adds an optional support for long FAT file names and Unicode naming. Also, USBwiz V3
includes PAWN (very similar to C) virtual machine and completely supports source code level debugging. 2007 ended with GHI signing an
agreement with Microsoft on porting .NET Micro Framework. 2008 started with the release of Embedded Master, the first and only .NET Micro Framework device with FAT File System and USB Host support.
Always on the Leading Edge
Since the very beginning, GHI Electronics has lead the way in it's technologies. Here are some examples of where GHI ranks the first every year.
1999 ALFAT V1 - First FAT Chipset.
2002 ALFAT V2 - First FAT chipset with over 50KB/s file access speed.
2003 ALFAT V3 - First FAT chipset with I2C interface.
2004 USBwiz V1 - First FAT chipset with USB Mass Storage support.
2005 USBwiz V2 - First chipset to support CDC and serial chipsets (Prolific, Silabs and FTDI)
2006 ALFATxp - First FAT chipset with JAVA VM.
2006 LIB3421 - First MAX3421 USB Host library.
2007 uALFAT V3 - First FAT chipset with an option for long file name support.
2007 USBwiz V3 - First FAT chipset with USB Host support and runs user's code internally using PAWM.
2007 GHIBT - First Bluetooth library for embedded systems with support to SSP and OBEX.
2008 Embedded Master - First .NET Micro Framework device with FAT and USB Host.
GHI Electronics, LLC Road Map
We are continuing to improve our products by selecting the best high-end processors and working hand-to-hand with our customers' designs. Many new products and improvements are planed for 2008.
Adding many .NET Micro Framework libraries to Embedded Master (Analog, PWM, etc.)
Next generation of "smart" chipsets with FAT, USB host/device, TCP/IP, PAWN, JAVA and many, many more!
New OEM boards to suport the new smart chipset with user accessable perephirals (UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, Ethernet, USB, etc.)
Since 1999 GHI Electronics, LLC has been providing the ultimate solutions for mass storage on embedded systems. GHI Electronics, LLC is the first in the world to provide the FAT file system on a single chip solution. Previously, mass storage devices with file systems were strictly used by PCs or powerful devices with operating systems. Our goal is to provide our customers with "Unique Developments" that fulfill their high-end needs with a simple drop-in solution.
ALFAT V1 was developed in 1999 to be the first stand-alone FAT file system chipset. ALFAT V1.0 was based on a 8-bit microcontroller and because of that, it had many limitations including read/write speeds under 5 KBytes/second. In 2002, ALFAT was redesigned into ALFAT V2 which became available to the public in 2003. This version was based on a 32-bit microcontroller that is at minimum, 50 times faster. Read speeds were pushed to over 100 KBytes/second on average and peaked at up to 250 KBytes/second. Write speeds were also improved to an average of 35 KBytes/second and peaked at up to 70 KBytes/second. One of the great features of ALFAT V2 was its ability to update itself to the latest firmware. By simply placing the firmware on the connected media you could issue an update command to complete the process. ALFAT V2 also allowed users to communicate using UART or SPI serial connections. ALFAT V2 was a complete success, and was integrated in many products around the world.
As requested by many customers, we added I2C to ALFAT V3 in 2003. ALFAT V3 is based on the same microcontroller as ALFAT V2 but it adds standard and extended modes. In standard mode, ALFAT V3 is 100% compatible with ALFAT V2. Extended mode, adds I2C and stand alone mode. This leaves ALFAT V3 with 4 options, SPI, I2C, UART and stand alone. Stand alone mode skips the boot loader and starts the firmware immediately. We didn't stop at SD, CF, MMC and HD storage devices! In 2004 USBwiz supported USB mass storage devices. USBwiz is based on a 32-bit micro controller similar to ALFAT and uses ISP1160 as a USB host. A full release of USBwiz firmware was release in mid 2005 to support SD/MMC, USB mass storage devices, USB mice, USB keyboards, USB printers and more!
We realized that our customers needed more connectivity with other USB devices. So in 2005, we added support for the CDC class used in most modems and
cell phones to allow users to have network connection and even send SMS messages from cell phones. Serial USB chipsets do not use any of the
standard USB classes so we added support for the most common chipsets from Prolific, Silicon laboratories and FTDI. This allows users to use
most low-cost USB GPS devices and USB serial cables. Some customers needed to place their own code inside our chipsets and
so we created ALFATxp in 2006 to have a JVM that runs JAVA code.
In the same year, GHI released USB host libraries for MAX3421, an
SPI USB host chipset from Maxim. The third generations of USBwiz and uALFAT were released in 2007. New chipsets were based a complete new
codebase with improvement to USB and FAT libraries. This also adds an optional support for long FAT file names and Unicode naming. Also, USBwiz V3
includes PAWN (very similar to C) virtual machine and completely supports source code level debugging. 2007 ended with GHI signing an
agreement with Microsoft on porting .NET Micro Framework. 2008 started with the release of Embedded Master, the first and only .NET Micro Framework device with FAT File System and USB Host support.